Concert Review: Maleek Berry’s Last Daze Of Summer Concert

Nigerian pop music has never been bigger, or more diverse than what is on offer today. Davido is huge, and so is Wizkid. But on another less mainstream, far more interesting level, a wavy new generation of artistes are putting in the work, dropping diverse material and building up audiences from organically.

Maleek Berry, the UK based producer who made a huge splash when he produced Wizkid’s monster hit, The Matter back in 2013, may be the unofficial leader of this movement. He may not have the physical charisma to stand out in a crowd of his peers but his work ethic, not to mention willingness to collaborate across various sounds and cultures easily places him in a formidable position where he can influence the careers of his peers.

Headlining a concert marking the Lagos close out of his Last Daze of Summer tour at the Hard Rock Café, Thursday night, Berry gave an explosive account of himself and delivered a show packed with great energy, spontaneous moments and a thrilling sense of accomplishment.

It isn’t that Maleek Berry has overnight become a sensational vocalist, or a sturdy rapper. No, his main selling point is still his ability to craft songs and melodies that can easily be sung along by audiences as they ascend the top of the charts and end up receiving multiple spins from the most influential deejays. He does this quite well. Because of this, a large part of Berry’s act has to involve collaborations. He does collaborations smartly and beautifully.

The opening acts for the Last Daze of Summer concert featured artistes who have made inventive use of the internet to harness their sound and push forward their artistry. D-O was a decent primer, so was Odunsi the Engine, but Wavy the Creator proved an instant stand out, elevating the tone and mood of the event with her gimmicky, electric sound that demands further interrogation. Good luck turning away from her arresting and visually involving stage presence. The music helped too.

Host, Jimmie introduced DJ Spinall who wasted no time pulling out a surprise from his hat in the form of Mr Eazi. Both acts tore through a crowd friendly version of Spinall’s Ohema before settling with Eazi’s Pour me water and Leg Over.

Not done with the collaborations, Maleek Berry about midway in to his performance, invited fast rising crooner, Nonso Amadi for a brief run through of their collaborative work, Early. Amadi then led the band through an off the cuff rendition of his hit Tonight. Jagaban rapper, Ycee also showed up for the splendid duet, Juice as well as a solo run of his own material.

But the night belonged to Maleek Berry who proved with effective gusto that he could exist as a complete artiste should he put some effort to it. And there was plenty effort. Naturally charismatic, Berry sang as much as his voice and the café’s extra loud sound set up could carry him and danced along to his own material. he was enjoying himself, obviously and the excitement was catching.

Berry performed songs from his terrific 2016 EP as well as material he has recorded elsewhere. All of them were hits with the audience as they expressed their appreciation for the man of the moment by singing along, sometimes word for word, to tracks like Eko Miami, Let me Know and of course, Been Calling.

He teased two songs, Sisi Maria and Pon My Mind off an upcoming EP, First Daze of Winter, before reaching back and closing with fan favorites, The Matter and Kontrol.

The Last Daze of Summer concert succeeded in satiating fans who have followed Maleek Berry’s career from London to Lagos. Offering terrific guest performances, popular songs, a healthy dose of thrill factor and an artistic involvement usually absent at events like this, even for established stars, Maleek Berry and the Eclipse Live team put up a show worth staying up for.

The man sure knows how to lead from the front.

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